Religion, if misused, can cultivate a lack of empathy. It imbues the believer with a sense of profound correctness, which bolsters their faith and sense of cosmic stability but crowds their view to the other side of things. It erodes the foundational fact that we are all functioning from the same essential set of neurons. No one is good or evil, they simply are who they are. No one has the answers, they simply know what they know.

The tough issues should be the ones we talk about most. They should be the least taboo. We should be discussing these issues regularly, in our lives and in our media, and deepening our understanding of the contrasting point of view. Fear of a vigorous debate is a sign of blind ideology trumping meaningful politics. It is the desperate hoarding of your own personal philosophy to the detriment of our global society.